Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind Motion Sickness Tips and Tricks

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Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a new roller coaster at EPCOT and with the debut of a new thrill ride, a lot of guests are wondering about motion sickness and what to expect with Cosmic Rewind. In this article, we’re going to talk about what has worked for us, what has worked for others, and what Cast Members are recommending for guests with motion sickness concerns.

We’re going to combine advice from a few different people, but for me, personally, I can handle just about every ride at Disney World at least once. I avoid, at just about all costs, riding Mission: SPACE, because that is the ride almost guaranteed to make me feel some amount of motion sickness. Rides like Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster and even Space Mountain are one and done for me. My wife will not ride Expedition Everest or Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster due to motion sickness concerns. Even Slinky Dog Dash will cause issues more often than not. Our advice in this article combines both of our learnings and experiences with Cosmic Rewind.

We have both ridden Cosmic Rewind almost 20 times at this point, and we have ridden in every single row. Neither of us feels the need to avoid the ride and we look forward to every single ride without hesitation thanks to what we learned below. Unless you suffer from severe motion sickness, we encourage you to ride and hope the tips below are helpful.

Cosmic Rewind Motion Sickness Report

There’s no way to sugarcoat it, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind has a higher than average ability to induce motion sickness. Disney’s newest roller coaster is an “Omnicoaster”, meaning that Imagineers have programmed turning into the ride experience. From a story standpoint, this means that the roller coaster vehicles produce a wonderful experience for guests in all rows because it has the ability to turn to face the action. From a motion sickness standpoint, this can cause problems.

While we strived to deliver Cosmic Rewind POV ride videos that showcased the true experience, there’s no better look at what you can expect in terms of spinning than this test video put out by Disney. As a matter of fact, this should probably play outside of the queue somewhere to illustrate what guests can expect before they line up.

While the motion never turns into a free spin like you might have experienced with Primeval Whirl or even the Mad Tea Party teacups attraction, there is enough turning to cause motion sickness…especially in the dark!

Before we get into the tips and tricks, we wanted to answer a few questions about the ride experience and sensations.

Does Cosmic Rewind go upside down? No. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind does not go upside down. There are no inversions, corkscrews, loops, or anything else that will put your head closer to the ground than your feet.

Are there big drops? No. There are no big drops on Cosmic Rewind despite the massive scale of the building. We wouldn’t describe any portion of the ride as having a drop at all. Instead, there are essentially curving declines throughout the ride and some dips. There are bigger drops on Rise of the Resistance and even Slinky Dog Dash than on Cosmic Rewind.

Will your stomach drop? Probably not. Again, there are no big drops here. You’ll feel more of a sensation in your stomach in Tower of Terror, Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Space Mountain than you will on Cosmic Rewind.

Is there airtime on Cosmic Rewind? Basically none. You’ll get more airtime on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad than you will on Cosmic Rewind.

Is Comic Rewind a bumpy or jerky ride? No! Cosmic Rewind is incredibly smooth and not at all jerky or bumpy. The list of more jerky attractions is long but includes every other roller coaster at Disney World, DINOSAUR, Star Tours, and even Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. Needless to say, Cosmic Rewind is extremely smooth.

As a quick aside, we’ll give props to the Cosmic Rewind team for creating a vehicle that allows everyone to see. As we write below, being able to see ahead and anticipate turns can be helpful. The fact that the ride vehicle has stadium-like seating in that the back row is slightly higher than the front, allows for good views for all.

Cosmic Rewind Motion Sickness Tips and Tricks

So, how can you try to combat motion sickness while riding Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind? Here are a few tips, that at times can sound contradictory, but they worked for us and others.

To Eat or Not to Eat?

We’ll start with something that you may already know the answer to as it relates to your situation. We’ve been able to ride Cosmic Rewind over a dozen times now and we find that riding on an empty stomach is worse than riding after having a meal. We have done about half of our rides without eating anything on the day of our rides and the other half after eating about an hour before getting on Cosmic Rewind and found a salad at Connections Cafe sits quite well.

Even a power bar or something light will probably settle you more than riding on an empty stomach.

Front, Back, or Middle?

There is a different ride experience based on where you sit. Here’s what we found:

• Ride in the front if: you want a less intense ride. If you ride in the front, you’ll experience the launch as the first car up the hill, which happens to be the smoothest experience. Also, the front car was a less intense ride for us, which helped tremendously with the rest of our day.
• Ride in the back if: you want to see turns before they happen. Watching the motion before it happens is easier from the back car than from the front car. Being able to anticipate twists and turns really helped us with motion sickness, even though the back is a more “intense” ride.
• Ride in the middle if: you want to listen to Cast Member advice. When we asked how best to avoid motion sickness, Cast Members have told us that they recommend riding in the middle. It’s possible that the middle also provides a happy medium when considering the intensity and ability to anticipate train movement.

Left or Right?

Really, left or right? Does the seat that you experience Cosmic Rewind in make that much of a difference? In our experience, it actually did! Cast Members recommended riding in the left seat for fewer g-forces and we actually would agree. It probably makes less of a difference than front versus back row, but Cast Members have recommended the middle car and left seat for the best chance at making it off with as little motion sickness as possible.

Take a Breather

As previews continue, Cast Members are learning more about the operational necessities of the attraction. In recent days, they have added benches along the exit of the ride. If you’re not feeling well, take a seat and take a moment to recompose yourself. One of the real headscratchers of Cosmic Rewind is the fact that you have to walk up a rather large flight of stairs and then back down the other side. We know why they exist, but we don’t know why Imagineering didn’t try to avoid them. We’ll be honest, walking up the stairs without getting your legs beneath you first isn’t always easy. Feel free to take an elevator too, that’s what it’s there for.

Nearest Restroom

If all else fails, you might be looking for the nearest restroom. The nearest restroom to Cosmic Rewind is in Connections Cafe & Eatery. More specifically, it’s through the automatic doors on the side of the building that faces Cosmic Rewind.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!

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